Married for only 26 days, took to train travel a day before

His Aai still rings in Manik Chaudhari’s ears. As Prashant Bendale’s mother-in-law, she feels it was a privilege to be called so. For, he had endeared himself to the family quickly.

His Aai still rings in Manik Chaudhari’s ears. As Prashant Bendale’s mother-in-law, she feels it was a privilege to be called so. For, he had endeared himself to the family quickly. “Now, all that is over,” she says, fighting to hold back tears.

Her daughter Leena, just 22, is still trying to cope with the truth that her husband is no more. Prashant, who died in the Matunga blast on 7/11, and she had been married for just 26 days. Since it was an arranged marriage, Leena was just getting to know the man she would be spending her life with.

“He had bought his first class pass on July 10. On Tuesday (7/11) morning, I made pohe for his breakfast. We spoke a couple of times in the day and around 6 pm he called to say he would be back by 7 pm. My mother-in-law and I were in the kitchen when we heard the news on television and called on his cellphone but he wouldn’t answer,” recalls Leena.

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They got engaged in May and after the wedding on June 16 in Jalgaon and a Manali trip, came back to Mumbai on July 9 to begin their lives together. Prashant was a deputy manager, business development with Essar Shipping and would travel from their home in Goregaon to Mahalaxmi.

On leave since mid-June, “Prashant resumed work the next day, which was also the first day he would travel by train,” says brother-in-law Prashant Dake. Marriage meant that Prashant had to swap his bachelor pad at Bandra for a larger, rented place. “And he didn’t want to ride his motorcycle to work everyday. So, he settled for the train.”

Leena, an electronics and telecommunications engineer from Cummins College in Pune, can’t believe it. “He was the kindest and most considerate person I have met. That`s why I married him.”

Prashant, son of a village school teacher and homemaker from Lasalgaon near Nashik, had come up the hard way. A keen learner, for him a sound education was of utmost importance. After graduating from Government College of Engineering (Pune), Prashant went on to pursue his MBA from Symbiosis Institute of Pune.

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Father Giridhar is proud of him. “He would always come first in class. He won so many essay competitions. Also, he had excellent handwriting,” he says.

That day, her father’s friend, Prakash Chaudhari, called to check if Prashant was in. He was not. The Chaudharis and Leena’s in-laws left to look for him. Meanwhile, Leena’s parents too were trying to reach them but the phone lines were jammed. They found Prashant’s name on the list at Sion Hospital. After the last rites in Lasangaon, the Chaudharis, on the advice of community elders, brought their daughter back to Pune. For now, life seems meaningless for Leena. As for the future, she hopes to get a job. “Prashant’s employers have offered me one when I am ready. I am grateful for that.”

(With inputs from Lekha Agarwal in Mumbai)